Gamification Strategies to Boost your Corporate Training

Gamification is one of the modern e-learning methods that is suitable for all ages. It is particularly good for corporate training, as it allows employees to have fun while learning and gives them the power to choose the “game” they want to play.

Gamification is used in various settings and has many positive results. Adult learners feel motivated and more engaged. Like scenario-based e-learning, gamification allows learners to make mistakes and learn from them in the safe environment of the learning course.

In order to create a successful e-learning course based on gamification that is suitable for corporate training, you need to incorporate several strategies.

Set Clear Success Criteria

As with every educational course, it is necessary to determine the specific criteria that can show if your training was successful or not. It is better to set measurable criteria, which are clear and understood by all participants in the process – course developers, learners, assessors. The success criteria can be different for each different game that you create. In some cases, you can try for 100% participation, in other cases, for 10% increase in sales, etc. As long as you set the criteria in the very beginning, you will be able to tailor the course so that it maximizes the option to meet them.

Determine the Learning Objectives

When developing a gamified e-learning course, you need to keep the focus on the learning objectives. At the end of the day, it aims to teach your staff certain skills and knowledge and not just make them collect points and play a game. If you have developed a game that is used as an onboarding tutorial, make sure that all important points are covered and that at the end of the game, the new employee is ready to start their working day.

Set a Story

You need an interesting story that can engage your employees. Usually, a more complicated story attracts more attention and increases the retention levels. At the same time, make sure to clarify what the purpose of the game is. No matter if you decide to send your employees on a treasure quest or to kill ogres in order to conquer new land, you need to set a purpose for that undertaking.

You need to set the scene at the beginning and then let the employees explore the game further. You can use e-learning storyboards to help you with creating a compelling story that can serve your purpose.

Create Competition

The element of competition can be quite motivating for learners. When you create competition, however, make sure that you have set strict rules. You can also allow the employees to choose their competitors. It is better to restrict competition within a team or department so that it is more tangible.

Collecting points will be stimulating for the participants in the game but it should not be the primary reason for their participation. Do not let the focus of the gamified course shift – remember that it aims to achieve certain goals and help the employees acquire specific knowledge and skills.

Test your Course

Once you are ready with the game for your corporate training, make sure to test it well prior to distributing it among your employees. It is necessary to test each element of the game and make sure that it works properly.

A good idea is to test the gamified course with a selected group of people prior to launching it throughout the organizations. Thus, you can see if there are any hidden workarounds or cheats that you didn’t even know existed. Proper testing will allow you to rectify all issues before using the course and thus get better results at the end.

Localize your Content

Last but not least, do not forget to properly translate and localize your gamification training course so that it is appropriate for all your employees. It is necessary to present consistent training options to all of your employees regardless of their location or the language they speak. When the course is localized by experienced translators, it will be properly understood by the target audience and lead to the same results regardless of the language used.

Why is Gamification Successful?

There are several factors that make gamification an excellent choice for corporate training. Some of the most important include:

Various application – gamification courses can be used for onboarding and induction, to further skill development, for teaching company policies or code of conduct, etc.

Engaging – employees like gamification courses as they rely on their emotions, sense of competition, ability to race and win. This makes the course more interesting and attractive for adult learners.

Stimulates knowledge increase – employees adopt new skills and knowledge that can be immediately used in their work. This triggers a sense of self-efficacy and boosts the ability to achieve their goals.

Learning through mistakes – gamification allows employees to fail and learn from their mistakes in the safe online environment that mimics real-life situations.

Stimulates thinking – through gamification learners have the ability to improve their critical thinking and problem-solving skills and learn to analyze and memorize information that can be used at a later stage.

Interactive – employees learn as they play and have the possibility to test in practice the knowledge they already have or the skills that they have just acquired. It is not a monotonous course but one that allows all of the learner’s senses to participate in the learning process.

Gamification is a great way to train your employees on a great variety of skills and present new knowledge. Despite being a fun way to learn, its development is a serious undertaking that should not be underestimated. Make sure that your game is properly structured and follows the learning objectives and overall goals that are relevant to your organization before you distribute it to your employees.